|
 Zernial
Anointed New Home Run King
"Ozark Ike" Overtakes
Kiner with Three Dingers
CLEVELAND (July 16) -- Gus Zernial claimed
the UL home run throne in style Sunday afternoon, crushing three home runs to
overtake Player of the Decade Ralph Kiner to become the United League's all-time
home run king. Zernial, 37, tied Kiner's 321 with a three-run shot off
Herm Wehmeier in the third, broke the record with a two-run clout of Ken Johnson
in the fifth, and for good measure launched a grand slam off Moe Drabowksy in
the eighth inning. After each homer, "Ozark Ike" was serenaded by a
standing ovation, and after the game he was carried off the field by his
teammates. Zernial becomes the first ULer to hit three homer hat-tricks;
his previous two came in 1952 and 1957 (no other player has done it more than
once), and his 9 RBIs tied Roy Campanella's 1955 single-game record.
Zernial, the Boston Beacons' fourth-round pick (32nd overall) in
the 1951 Initial Draft, and got the first hit in UL history on April 3, 1951 in
Yankee Stadium and hit his first UL home run the next day. The 6'3",
245-pounder Beaumont, Tx. native tallied 112 home runs in his first four seasons
with Boston, but had his best seasons in hitter-friendly Wrigley Field. In
Chicago, Zernial averaged 35 homers a year over a five-year span, and won
back-to-back home run titles in 1956-57, including a UL single-season record of
46 in his All-Star 1957 campaign.
The Colts let the 36-year-old go after his four-year $8.7 million
contract expired last year. "Ozark Ike" appeared to be slowing down,
hitting just .238-12-45 (all career lows) in 119 games. Zernial had a
homecoming of sorts this spring, returning to his original franchise, albeit in
a new city. Barons' GM Charlie Qualls signed the oldster to a two-year
$850,000 contract this spring, and Zernial has rewarded Cleveland with a
comeback year that has him on pace to match his prime years in Chicago.
As opposed to Kiner, who owned at least a share of the all-time
home run title since 1951, Zernial's reign as UL home run king figures to be a
short one, as the new guard of Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle continues its
assault on the UL record books. Zernial, at 37, figures to retire in the
next couple years, while Mays, eight years his junior, sits just 17 home runs
behind.
Hamner Closing in on Third MVP?
Loes, Miller With No-Hit Bids
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ZOWIES,
STUDS & DUDS |
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BROOKLYN
SUPERBAS
Glen Reed |
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WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
Doug Aiton |
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CLEVELAND
BARONS
Charlie
Qualls |
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Top Performance:
Lew Burdette pitched the UL’s first perfect game at Yankee
Stadium on June 12, striking out 12 Gothams.
Honorable Mention:
Bobby Brown and Irv Noren each had 6-hit games, the first
teammates to accomplish the feat in UL history.
Studly Studs:
Brown, Amoros, Mantle, Hamner, Noren. Brooklyn’s 1-5 hitters all
have OBPs over .389, claiming 4 of the league's top 6 spots in that
category. Hamner bounced back from his lackluster 1960 (only
.333) and is again hitting in the .350s, on pace for his third 200-hit
season and battling for a fourth batting title in five years.
Dud:
Gene Conley is 16-4, giving him his lowest winning
percentage (.800) in five seasons. Read that again, then click
here. The 3-time Cy Young winner
is 119-23 since his horrendous 19-10 season in 1956.
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Top Performance:
Toothpick Sam Jones pitched a one-hit complete game on April 30,
but lost 1-0 to San Francisco, who scored the game’s only run on an
error, a sac bunt, and two sac flies.
Stud:
Sophomore SS Roy Hansen is having a breakout year. The 23-year
old is tied for 5th in RBIs (64) and is 7th in slugging (.519), and is a
Gold Glove candidate.
Dud:
RF Larry Doby is earning money the old fashioned way: by resting
on his laurels. The 36-year old rightfielder, who signed a one-year, $7
million pact this spring, is hitting just .200 with 10 home runs, and
leads the league with 109 strikeouts.
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Top Performance:
Gus Zernial became the new UL home run king with three clouts and
a record-tying 9 RBIs on July 16.
Honorable Mention:
2B Billy Goodman became the first hitter in club history to
collect six hits in a game, July 18.
Stud:
Goodman, at the ripe age of 35, is making a run at his first
batting title. The four-time champion with the Washington Monuments
leads the circuit with a .362 average, 57 points over his career
average. He hit .336 with St. Louis and Cleveland last year, finishing
second after missing the top 10 for six years.
Dud:
$5 million first baseman Bill White is skipping BP and laughing
all the way to the bank. The 27-year-old former Maroon is hitting
.222-9-29, .677 OPS in 82 games, a nearly 200 point dropoff in OPS from
last year, when he earned far less. |
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NEW YORK
GRIFFINS
Shawn
Martin |
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DETROIT
GRIFFINS
Sean
Holloway |
ON THIS DATE IN
REAL LIFE
www.baseballlibrary.com
Monday, July 17th
Following a year-long illness,
Ty Cobb succumbs to cancer at age 74 at Emory University Hospital in
Atlanta.
Wednesday, July
19th
Ford Frick, an old friend of
Babe Ruth's, announces that should Ruth's record be beaten after 154
games, the record will carry an asterisk. When asked about the ruling,
Roger Maris replies, "A season is a season."
Monday, July 24th
At
Kansas City, Detroit P
Frank Lary collides with rookie 3B
Steve Boros, and both players leave the game with injuries. Lary
does not miss a start but Boros' collarbone is broken and he will not
return. He has 53 RBIs to date.
Boston OF
Jackie Jensen's fear of flying gets the best of him and he refuses
to fly to Los Angeles. The Sox say they will not pay him for games he
misses because of the flying fear.
At
Yankee Stadium, 50,000 fans, on hand for the Yankees exhibition game
with the Giants, save their biggest cheer for
Willie Mays. Willie delivers a 2-run single in the 4–1 victory. The
only score for the Yanks is a
Mickey Mantle homer.
Tuesday, July 25th, 1961
Roger Maris hits four home runs, tying the
American League record for a twin bill (at least one in each game),
as New York beats Chicago 5–1 and 12–0.
Mickey Mantle also homers off
Frank Baumann in the first game. He ends the day with 38 home runs
to 40 for Maris.
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Top Performance:
SS Eddie Bressoud, one of the stars of the
’59 Amazin’ Arachnids,
rapped out 4 hits in the second game of the season, homering twice, in a
11-1 Briggs blowout.
Stud:
Ace Bob Friend
(14-9, 3.04) is having the finest UL campaign of his 11-year career.
“Warrior” anchors the rotation and shares the league lead with 235
strikeouts.
Honorable Mention:
Billy Loes has rebounded from a dismal 1960 (8-13, 5.38) to show
some of the promise that made him a top prospect in the early ‘50s. In
10 starts, Loes is 7-1 with a team-best 2.37 ERA.
Dud:
Fourth starter Bob Purkey is having one of the blowchunkiest
years in Gothams history, spewing out 11 losses to go with his single
win, and compiling a generous (to opposing hitters) 5.94 ERA, though to
be fair, he suffers from the league’s third worst run support.
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Top Performance:
Jim Cunningham and Frank Malzone hit monster home runs of
463 and 468 feet in back-to-back innings in a 14-4 rout at Yankee
Stadium.
Stud:
1B Jim Cunningham is 2nd in the league in OBP and 8th in OPS
(.866). He is batting nearly 40 points higher than a year ago and leads
the club with 54 RBI.
Duds:
The catching tandem of Hal Smith and Charlie Lau have
combined for a sickly .171 average in 356 at bats.
Honorable Dud: Last
year’s club HR leader Leon “Daddy Wags” Wagner has been
underwhelming this year, hitting just 10 clouts, with a .422 SLG. The
club ranks dead last in home runs. |
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CHICAGO
COLTS
Lance
Mueller |
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LOS
ANGELES OUTLAWS
Peter Vays |
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Top Performance:
Billy Pierce tossed a four-hit shutout July 24, his second in 8
days and fifth of the year. Stu Miller holds the record with 8
shutouts in 1952.
Stud:
SS Ernie Banks
(.280-22-74) is on pace for his 6th straight 30 HR/100 RBI season,
though he will battle with fellow three-time UL All-Star Granny
Hamner for All-Star honors.
Dud:
None to speak of, really, though the Colts have a monkey on their back:
their reputation peaking early and collapsing down the stretch.
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Top Performance:
Hank Aguirre earned his 10th win with a five-hit shutout in a 4-0
win over St. Louis on July 24 at Arroyo Seco Stadium.
Stud:
Is reliever
Bob Hooper saving the best for last? The 38-year-old has a
career best 2.05 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 23 games.
Dud:
C Bob Schmidt showed promise last season (.260-15-62, .810 OPS)
but 1960 was perhaps an anomaly as the 28-year-old reverted to his prior
form this season (.223-7-32, .624 OPS). |
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LOUISVILLE COLONELS
Ben DeGrass |
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ST LOUIS
MAROONS
Tim Smith |
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SAN
FRANCISCO SPIDERS
John Nellis |
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Top Performance:
3B Felix Mantilla, who hit a combined 13 home runs in his last
two seasons, belted three in a game on April 10 in a 11-3 win at St.
Louis.
Stud:
“Hammerin Hank”
is a strong candidate to become the first back-to-back MVP. Aaron
is on pace to eclipse career highs in home runs, RBIs, slugging, and
walks.
Dud:
#2 starter Herm Wehmeier (6-14) is at risk of becoming the first
pitcher to win 20 then lose 20 the next year. His ERA bloated a full
run (to 3.91) and his run production tailed off by a run, and at age 34
and in a contract year, Wehmeier’s future with the club will likely be
returning manager Mark Allen’s first major decision.
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Top Performance:
Ace Herb Score became the first pitcher in five years to notch 15
strikeouts in a game July 19 in a 5-4 extra inning loss at New York.
The feat had been accomplished 12 times before – 7 times by former
Maroons ace Billy
Pierce.
Stud:
Larry Jackson, a first rounder who was slow to develop in
Boston/Cleveland after losing 23 games in his first full season, is on
fire in ’61, going 7-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 14 starts.
Dud: $5.2
million starter Robin Roberts (5-13, 4.84) is on pace for his 7th
losing season in 8 years, and his 5th straight year with an ERA over
4.30, despite a respectable 1.32 WHIP.
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Top Performance:
Harmon Killebrew launched a 492-foot home run, the year’s
longest, in a 2-0 win at Yankee Stadium on D-Day, June 6.
Stud:
LF Terry
Francona is the league’s top pinch hitter, compiling a .467 average
with 7 RBI in 21 at bats. His .298 overall average leads the club.
Dud:
Someone put a fork in Ken Boyer, owner of the league’s lowest OPS
(.598 through 90 games). The third baseman may be just 30 years old,
but his numbers suggest he has entered the twilight of his career. The
#2 overall pick in the 1955 draft apparently peaked in 1958 and his
hitting has trended downward since.
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BATTING
AVERAGE |
HOME RUNS |
RBI |
OPS |
RUNS
SCORED |
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Billy Goodman,
CLE |
.362
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Granny Hamner, BRO
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.356
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*Richie Ashburn,
CLE |
.336
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Bill Skowron, LOU |
.325
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Don Blasingame,
STL |
.319
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Bobby Brown, BRO |
.319
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Joe Cunningham,
DET |
.318
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Hank Aaron, LOU |
.317
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Rocky Bridges,
LOU |
.305
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*Eddie Bressoud,
NYG |
.304
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Hank Aaron, LOU |
26
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Gus Zernial, CLE |
23
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Ernie Banks, CHI |
22
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Mickey Mantle,
BRO |
22
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Harmon Killebrew,
SF |
21
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Willie Mays, WAS |
20
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*Frank Robinson,
LA |
20
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Rocky Colavito,
SF |
19
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Eddie Mathews,
CLE |
19
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Granny Hamner,
BRO |
78
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Ernie Banks, CHI |
74
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Hank Aaron, LOU |
68
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Rocky Colavito,
SF |
65
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Ron Hansen, WAS |
64
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Mickey Mantle,
BRO |
64
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*Gus Zernial, CLE |
62
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Bill Skowron, LOU |
60
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Orlando Cepeda,
NYG |
59
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*Frank Robinson,
LA |
59
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Hank Aaron, LOU |
.977
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Willie Mays, WAS |
.950
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Bill Skowron, LOU |
.928
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Granny Hamner,
BRO |
.927
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Ernie Banks, CHI |
.913
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Mickey Mantle,
BRO |
.902
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*Frank Robinson,
LA |
.871
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Joe Cunningham,
DET |
.866
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*Bobby Brown, BRO |
.862
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Billy Goodman,
CLE |
.861
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BROOKLYN
|
546
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CHICAGO
|
462
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LOUISVILLE
|
451
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ST. LOUIS
|
451
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WASHINGTON
|
444
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CLEVELAND
|
438
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SAN FRANCISCO
|
430
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DETROIT
|
411
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NEW YORK
|
408
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LOS ANGELES
|
387
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EARNED
RUN AVERAGE |
WINS |
STRIKEOUTS |
RATIO |
RUNS
ALLOWED |
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Bob Miller, BRO |
2.29
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Carl Erskine, CHI |
2.70
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Billy Pierce, CHI |
2.74
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Johnny Antonelli, LOU
|
2.80
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Larry Jackson, STL |
2.92
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Lew Burdette, BRO |
2.97
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Herb Score, STL |
2.97
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Bob Friend, NYG |
3.04
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Bubba Church, LA |
3.20 |
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*Whitey Ford, BRO |
3.27
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Johnny Antonelli,
LOU |
20
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Gene Conley, BRO |
16
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Carl Erskine, CHI |
15
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Bob Friend, NYG |
14
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Joey Jay, DET |
14
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*Toothpick S.
Jones, WAS |
12
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Don Larsen, WAS |
12
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9
tied with |
11
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Bob Friend, NYG |
235
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Herb Score, STL |
235
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Johnny Antonelli, LOU
|
216 |
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Toothpick Sam
Jones, WAS
|
181
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Whitey Ford, CHI |
161
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Billy Pierce, CHI
|
161
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Johnny Podres,
DET |
161
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Gene Conley, BRO
|
155
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Herm Wehmeier,
LOU
|
154
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Art Ceccarelli,
DET |
148
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*Don Mossi, CHI |
148 |
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Lew Burdette, BRO |
8.9
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Billy Pierce, CHI
|
9.2
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Bob Miller, BRO |
9.2
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Carl Erskine, CHI |
9.4
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Herb Score, STL |
9.4
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Whitey Ford, BRO
|
9.7
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Bob Friend, NYG |
10.5
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Bubba Church, LA |
10.5
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Larry Jackson,
STL |
10.6
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Johnny Antonelli,
LOU
|
10.7
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BROOKLYN
|
349
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LOUISVILLE
|
408
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CHICAGO
|
431
|
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LOS ANGELES
|
434
|
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CLEVELAND
|
443
|
|
ST. LOUIS
|
444
|
|
DETROIT
|
456
|
|
NEW YORK
|
459
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO
|
492
|
|
WASHINGTON
|
512
|
|
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BATTER OF THE MONTH |
PLAYER OF THE WEEK |
MILESTONES |
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APR
|
Joe
Cunningham, DET |
4/10
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Hank
Aaron, LOU
|
7/17
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Granny
Hamner, BRO |
Gus Zernial, CLE |
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MAY
|
Bill
Skowron, LOU |
4/17
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Gil
McDougald, DET |
7/24
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Rocky
Colavito, SF |
322nd home run
(July 16), #1 all-time |
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JUN
|
Hank
Aaron, LOU |
4/24
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Billy
Pierce, CLE |
7/31
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Lou
Brissie, LOU |
Mickey Mantle, BRO |
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JUL
|
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5/1
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Mickey
Mantle, BRO |
8/7
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1,500th hit
(July 18), #7 all-time |
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AUG
|
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5/8
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Lew
Burdette, BRO |
8/14
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Mickey Mantle, BRO |
|
SEP
|
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5/15
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Lew
Burdette, BRO (2) |
8/21
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1,000th run
(July 19), #2 all-time |
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PITCHER OF THE MONTH |
5/22
|
Hank
Aaron, LOU (2) |
8/28
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APR
|
Billy
Pierce, CLE |
5/29
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George
Kell, LOU |
9/4
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MAY
|
Herb
Score, STL |
6/5
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Mickey
Mantle, BRO (2) |
9/11
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JUN
|
Tom
Sturdivant, CHI |
6/12
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Tom
Sturdivant, CHI |
9/18
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JUL
|
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6/19
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Larry
Jackson, STL |
9/25
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AUG
|
|
6/26
|
Bill
Skowron, LOU |
10/2 |
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SEP
|
|
7/3
|
Hank
Aaron, LOU (3) |
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UNITED LEAGUE CHAMPIONS |
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
|
CY YOUNG AWARD
|
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
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1951 |
ST. LOUIS MAROONS
|
Ralph Kiner, DET |
Sam Zoldak, STL |
Jackie Jensen, LOU |
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1952
|
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
|
Jackie Robinson, NYG |
Larry Jansen, WAS |
Stu Miller, WAS |
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1953
|
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
|
Mickey Mantle, BOS |
Stu Miller, WAS |
Smoky Burgess, BRO |
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1954
|
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
|
Stan Musial, STL |
Billy Pierce, STL |
Ed Bailey, LOU |
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1955
|
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
|
Roy Campanella, LA |
Tom Gorman, BRO |
Gene Conley, BRO |
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1956
|
WASHINGTON
MONUMENTS
|
Ralph Kiner, DET |
Johnny Antonelli, LOU |
Frank Robinson, LA |
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1957
|
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
|
Granny Hamner, BRO |
Gene Conley, BRO |
Roger Maris, BOS |
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1958
|
LOUISVILLE COLONELS
|
Willie Mays, WAS |
Carl Erskine, WAS |
Orlando Cepeda, NYG |
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1959
|
SAN FRANCISCO SPIDERS
|
Granny Hamner, BRO |
Gene Conley, BRO |
Vada Pinson, LA |
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1960
|
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS |
Hank Aaron, LOU |
Gene Conley, BRO |
Joe Gibbon, NYG |
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